HADRIAN’S Wall has it, Durham Cathedral too and now a border town is bidding to join them in being awarded a prestigious global accolade.
Berwick is considering applying for World Heritage status, a rare bestowal given to places judged to be of special cultural or physical significance.
A seminar was recently held in the town at which the feasibility of bidding for the accolade was considered.
Berwick has a unique claim to fame in that it has changed hands between England and Scotland, usually following battles between the two nations, no fewer than 13 times, the last in 1482.
Debate continues to rage over whether England’s most northerly town should be in Scotland, with Berwick Rangers the only football team from south of the border to play in a league north of it.
There have been suggestions Berwick remains at war with Russia, having been regarded as an independent state when the Crimean War began but not being mentioned in the subsequent treaty.
It boasts an impressive barracks, Elizabethan town walls, the River Tweed and a number of bridges across it including a rail crossing designed by Robert Stephenson, a Cromwellian church, a revitalised granary, a guild hall and an array of listed buildings.
Dewar’s Lane in the town is also renowned having been captured in a painting by JS Lowry, a regular visitor.
Berwick is one of the UK’s nine Cittaslow towns – an international accolade for distinctive places with a high quality of life – and has recently been awarded Fairtrade status.
Organisers of the seminar concluded that UNESCO World Heritage status may not be achievable at present.
However, they have been urged to pursue the accolade by the town’s mayor who last night said it would draw in tourists from home and abroad.
One of the organisers of the seminar Bernard Shaw, from the Cittaslow group, said: “The outcome was that it probably is not realistic at this point of time.
“It was probably not realistic when you look at the competition from other towns looking at World Heritage status.
“There may be better ways to take Berwick forward, rather than something which may not be achievable.
“Maybe the time was not right for the investment of time and money to invest in an objective of World Heritage status which we may not achieve.
“It could very well be that the benefits that could come our way could be achieved in a cheaper more optimistic way.”
Mayor of Berwick Alan Bowlas said: “It probably is not achievable, but we should probably pursue World Heritage status because I think we would pick up quite a lot of pointers on the way.
“It would certainly put us on the international market and improve our tourist offer in Northumberland.”
